Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University
Elizabeth Wilson
Shepherd Poverty Student
“Those living in poverty often have greater need for legal services but fewer resources with which to obtain them, thereby prosecuting the poor more harshly than affluent citizens. Financial mobility pervades every aspect of life.”
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Support the Shepherd Program

Friends of Rockbridge

Promoting student engagement in the Rockbridge area community and beyond

The Friends of Rockbridge (FOR) desingates a group of Wasington and Lee alumni and friends who wish to support undergraduate and law students in service and learning through service, primarily in the local and regional community.  Washington and Lee's Shepherd Program for Poverty and Human Capability has intiated multiple activities that promote student involvement in Rockbridge County and the region. The Friends of Rockbridge will endow support for these activities so that they can continue in perpetuity.  Foundational members of FOR will give between $10,000 and $150,000 in a three-to-five year pledge to reach at least a one million dollar endowment.  When we attain our goal, we will gather to dedicate a plaque that commemorates this collective gift and reminds others that those associated with W&L care about the communities in which they live. Programs supported by the FOR endowment include: 

  • A pre-orientation week for entering first-year students (Volunteer Venture)
  • Student research and consulting for agencies in the local community (CCPR)
  • Service leaders who pledge 900 hours of service over two years (Bonner Leaders)
  • The Nabors Service League, which promotes volunteering during the academic year and Alternative Break trips to volunteer with W&L alumni in their communities
  • Service as part of education in several acadecmic courses (Service Learning)
  • The Campus Kitchens Project at Washington and Lee, through which students deliver more than 12,000 nutritious meals annually to residents of Rockbridge County and dine with the recipients

Two of these activities, the Campus Kitchens Project and the Bonner Leader program, are also supported by national organizations, the Campus Kitchen Project in Washington, DC, and the Bonner Foundation in Princeton, NJ.

These activities are associated with academic courses and national and international internships sponsored by the Shepherd Program.  This integreation of academic study and hands-on service in a Washington and Lee education cultivates compassion and intellectual rigor as preparation for civic and professional engagement to diminish poverty.  The Shepherd Program draws inspiration from the honor system and W&L's mission to foster "the responsibility to serve society through the productive use of talent and training" and a "capacity for self-sacrifice in behalf of [our] fellow citizens."

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